Tales of Symphonia The Mercenary's Aprentence
by CorrineAri
Summary: A what-if story. What if Kratos brought his aprentence with him to Iselia? Let me tell you one thing: The aprentence is NOT Mithos!
1. Martel Temple

_**Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree that was the source of manna.**_

_**A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero's life was sacrificed in order to take its place.**_

_**Grieving over the loss, the goddess disappeared unto the heavens.**_

_**The goddess left the angels with this edict: "You must wake me, for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed."**_

_**The angels bore the Chosen One, who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens.**_

_**And that marked the beginning of the regeneration of the world.**_

Hotaru's Point of View -

Hotaru wasn't easily impressed, and the village of Iselia was a small place. It had fewer signs of the manna starvation than other towns, but one could see some if they knew what to look for. Brown edges on a leaf. Dried grass. Even something simple as how hot it was, today of all days.

_Well, I guess it's a good thing we came. Maybe we can get some work, after all. _She looked over at her long-time mentor and teacher. Kratos was a tall man, with auburn hair that fell over his eyes and stuck out in seemingly random directions. He wore a purple suit and a sword rested on his left hip.

"Are you ready?"

Hotaru rolled her eyes. Asking if she was 'ready' for a job was dumb. "Whenever you are…."

Kratos nodded. "Come. The temple is this way…"

Lloyd's Point of View -

"This guy…. Is really strong."

Lloyd had to admit it, his best friend was right. He hated to acknowledge the strength of his opponents, but this giant of a man was huge… with the power to match. "Damn…." He shook his head. "Come on! We can do this!" He gripped his swords tighter in his hands. He wasn't ready to give up. Not when his life and the lives of his friends were in danger.

"Above you!" A female voice he didn't know yell out.

Too late, he noticed that the enemy's war hammer coming down. "Oh, shi-"

First, something hit his side, knocking him out of the way of the blow. It took about three seconds for Lloyd to realize that a girl was the one responsible. She had basically tackled him to save him. He quickly noticed that she wasn't tall, but she wasn't short, either. Her hair was black while her eye color was pale blue.

"Ah… than-"

The girl didn't seem to have the patience to listen. "If you can't fight, get yourself to safety." Her words were somewhat cold as she turned back to the enemy, where a man was already fighting. The girl drew her sword at her right hip with her left hand. It was then Lloyd noticed another on her back, angled so she could draw it out with her right hand.

The man's sword was miraculously making quick work of the giant's weapons. "Hotaru!" He yelled, barely glancing away.

"I'm on it!" The girl called back, running into the battle without hesitation. She ducked under the giant's left arm as he tried to swing at her before plunging her sword deep into his side.

_I'd hate to fight them… _Lloyd thought as he watched the man finish off the enemy.

"Damn." Lloyd's attention turned to the desian in charge, who was glaring at the man that helped them out. "I didn't think you'd show up….." He looked at his men before coming to a fast decision. "Retreat for now."

Lloyd went over Colette, who fell during the battle, and helped her up. Genis walked up, a bit shaky. Lloyd looked at the two that saved them.

Hotaru's Point of View -

"Who are you?" The brown-haired boy asked. Hotaru could go far enough to say that he looked annoyed.

_I guess he wasn't taught manners. _Hotaru thought. "When speaking to someone, it's more polite to introduce yourself before asking another's name."

The boy was about to argue when an elderly woman walked up to her and Kratos. "How can I thank you for saving the Chosen?"

Hotaru quickly drifted from the conversation. She stopped listening when she noticed something different about the silver-haired boy.

_He's…. he's a half-elf? _She made sure that no one realized she knew this.

_I have to talk to this kid later. _

Colette's Point of View -

Colette was relived. Relived that they lived through that fight, relived that the mercenaries would be there, but most of all, the presence of Lloyd relieved her the most. She knew that it would only be so much longer before she would have to leave it all behind, so she should enjoy it while it lasts.

_Right. This is the first step to saving the world. _Colette nodded to herself. _I can do this. _She looked at the other members of the group. Hotaru, Kratos' apprentice, looked distracted by something. Lloyd seemed to be ignoring Kratos while talking to Genis. Kratos didn't seem to care, though.

It didn't take long for the group to get to the altar. Everyone quickly became quiet when the angel appeared. Everyone but Lloyd, that is.

Lloyd's Point of View -

"What is that?" Lloyd asked, then realized how dumb the question was.

"'_That' _is an angel, smart one." Hotaru said, apparently annoyed at him for some reason.

"I-I knew that…." Lloyd muttered as Genis shot him a 'shut up already' expression.

The blond angel's wings flapped as he hovered above the altar. "I am Remiel. I am an angel of judgment, sent to guide the Chosen on the Journey of Regeneration."

Colette stepped forward to accept the oracle. The Tower of Salvation appeared. Remiel gave some instructions, and began to fly out.

"Wait, please wait!" Colette called out. "Are you really my fa-"

"I shall wait at the next seal, my beloved daughter Colette."

With that, the angel was gone.


	2. Banished

Hotaru's Point of View -

Hotaru leaned against the wall of Colette's home. She wasn't interested in the meeting going on inside. In her time, she had been in so many that she stopped caring about them. Kratos will tell her about it later, anyway.

"Hey, it's you." Lloyd said as he walked up to the house with Genis coming up behind him.

Hotaru nodded. "Of course it's me." She was tempted to use some form of sarcasm to make her point come across, but didn't.

"Where's Colette?" Lloyd asked simply.

"Inside. But just wait until-"

Lloyd didn't stop to listen. He went inside right away.

"He's not too smart, is he?" Hotaru asked, raising an eyebrow.

Genis shook his head. "Nope."

Later that evening, she found herself outside Lloyd's home. Lloyd and Colette were already speaking on their own. Kratos was at the nearby grave and Raine, Genis' sister, was fixated on the small creek that ran in front of the house. Hotaru walked to Genis. _Okay…._

"Hey, we need to talk." Hotaru crossed her arms over chest. She talked to Raine earlier about what she was about to address now, but she wanted to talk to both of them.

"Sure." Genis nodded and pet Noishe.

Hotaru smiled and sat on the side of Noishe's pen. She was quiet for a minute or two, gathering her thoughts. "Genis, I talked to your sister earlier, and…."

Genis groaned. "Did she go crazy again?"

"What?" Hotaru blinked, confused. "No, I just was wondering…. how… why…." She sighed. "Okay, I'll just say it. Why are two half-elves living in a village of humans?"

Genis froze. "Half-elves? We-we're not half elves…." His nervous laugh gave him away if nothing else did.

"I asked around, and the villagers think you're full elves." Hotaru looked at him. Genis looked nervous, but then Hotaru smiled. "That's clever of you, but risky, right?"

Genis didn't say anything. He just stared with wide eyes.

_Augh, I forgot. _"You can sense it, right? I'm not human." She tucked some hair behind her ear to reveal that it was pointed. "In fact, my mother was a half-elf. My father… a normal elf."

"Then you understand why we're hiding it!" Genis forced himself to whisper.

Hotaru nodded and let her hair cover her ears again. "Don't say anything about my blood and I won't say anything about yours. I just wanted to put that out in the open, that's all."

Genis frowned, possibly trying to figure out why she even brought it up, though Hotaru just told him part of it.

"Hey, is Lloyd really that hopeless?" Hotaru asked, changing the subject.

Colette's Point of View -

Colette nervously shifted her weight while she waited to leave. She hoped that Raine would hurry soon. The sooner that they left Iselia, the better.

Raine soon walked up. "Sorry for the delay. I'm ready to go."

Colette nodded. "Alright…" She looked at Genis. This would most likely be the last time she would see her friend. She walked over to him and hugged her friend for what would be the last time. "Be careful when I'm gone, okay?"

Genis nodded back with a weak smile. "You, too. Come back soon."

Colette smiled. "I'll do my best." It was somewhat of a lie, but it was better if no one knew that.

"I'll see you in a few days." Hotaru said to Colette. It was agreed that she would stay for a little longer in case the Desians attacked again.

"Right." Colette handed a folded paper to her father. "Please give this to Lloyd when he comes by."

"Of course…. Chosen."

Genis's Point of View -

Genis could tell that Hotaru was annoyed, but she waited until Colette was gone before she looked at Genis. He suddenly thought of Raine's temper. _No… not everyone could be like that. _

"Why didn't Lloyd show up? Aren't he and Colette friends or something?" There was a simple look of confusion on her face.

"Maybe he was mad about not being able to go?" Genis suggested, but he knew that was wrong.

Hotaru quietly muttered something that Genis couldn't hear.

"What?" Genis asked, not sure if she intended to be that quiet.

"It's nothing, forget it."

"In any case, we should go see Lloyd." Genis said. Hotaru shrugged and followed.

Hotaru's Point of View -

Hotaru followed Genis to Lloyd's home. It seemed that Genis knew the way. Maybe he went there often. She didn't know. It wasn't her business, anyway.

They found Lloyd outside the house, talking to Dirk. "Lloyd-"

"What are you doing here?" Hotaru demanded to know.

"Hey, Genis! I'm joining Colette!" Lloyd said, ignoring Hotaru.

Hotaru sighed and brought her hand to her face. "This guy's a moron, isn't he?"

"I think he was dropped on his head." Genis agreed.

"And why are you here?" Lloyd asked, meaning Hotaru. She noticed that he was annoyed again for some reason.

She could have been nice and just said why, but she was annoyed. "It doesn't matter right now. Come to Iselia…. Something's waiting for you there."

Lloyd's Point of View -

"What the hell is this? It sounds like a will!" Lloyd yelled, looking around the room, almost desperately. He noticed that no one was meeting his eyes, except Hotaru, who didn't seem to know what to say.

"Well, I suppose you could say that…." Frank, Colette's father, said quietly. "You see, Colette… the Chosen… she already-"

_**BOOM!**_

"What was that?" Lloyd demanded, looking around.

"Desians." Hotaru said it like a curse and ran outside. Lloyd and Genis followed, being confronted by the sight of burning houses. Desians were roaming the streets, some harassing villagers, while some seemed to be waiting for something.

"How did you-?" Lloyd wanted to find out just how Hotaru knew that it was Desians, of all things.

"No time, Lloyd. We need to find the commander and force him to leave." Hotaru said as she drew her sword. "I won't just stand for this kind of thing." One could see easily that she was angry. Enraged may have been a better word, though.

"The square. That's where he'll most likely be." Genis said, coming up to them.

Hotaru nodded. "Let's go." She then took off.

_Who put __**her **__in charge? _Lloyd questioned, then followed. It wasn't important now.

By the time he got there, a green monster was with the Desian commander. "What the hell is that?"

"I don't know it's proper name, but it's a common enough 'punishment' for those that don't comply with their rules." Hotaru said, frowning the whole time.

"Smart girl." The commander said, only to be met with Hotaru's glare.

_ She hates Desians, too…. _

The leader called out to Lloyd and listed his crime, then allowed the monster to attack.

"Wha…" Lloyd didn't like the idea of fighting it.

"Calm down, Lloyd. I'll be your backup." Hotaru said as she seemed to sneak up from behind him.

"I'll help, too!" Genis said, then began chanting a spell.

"Let's go!" Lloyd charged ahead of the two.

Hotaru's Point of View -

_ Idiot. _Was Hotaru's first thought before charging after him. The monster was bringing down it's large claws on Hotaru, who jumped back just enough to dodge.

** "Demon Fang!" **Lloyd sent a shockwave of energy directly at the monster. The monster retaliated by swinging it's large claws at Lloyd, sending him flying.

Hotaru heard Genis yell from behind her, but took no time to stop. She charged forward, sending manna into her sword. She swung, sending the manna swirling around the opponent. The monster let out a roar of anger.

**"Fireball!" **Hotaru ducked as the balls of fire hit the monster. She glanced back to see Genis grin.

_Now where's…. ah! _Hotaru located Lloyd, getting up from the ground. "Hey, Lloyd! You're not dead yet!" Hotaru laughed, mostly because of the situation.

"Of course I'm not!" Lloyd yelled defensively, glaring at her. "Now, one more time!"

Hotaru nodded. "Let's go! **Sonic Thrust!"**

The monster staggered back, bleeding heavily. It turned to the Desian commander and wrapped its claws around him.

_"Quick, run away…." _A female voice came from the monster.

"That can't be… Marble?" Genis asked himself.

"Huh?" Hotaru looked at him. _Who's Marble? _

_ "Lloyd… thank you…. Genis… you were like a son to me… thank you… and goodbye…" _The monster, who was known as Marble in the past, then was engulfed a white light as she created an explosion out of her own manna. The exphere that was on her rolled to a stop in front of Genis's feet.

Lloyd's Point of View -

_ Banished._

Lloyd could barely believe it. He caused Genis and himself to be banished from Iselia. He looked at Genis, who turned and mumbled in his sleep. "I'm sor-"

"If you're going to apologize again, I may just knock you out." Hotaru said as she tossed some more wood into the fire.

Lloyd frowned. "It was my fault."

"Maybe, but maybe not…" Hotaru shrugged and looked at him. "Does it matter anymore?"

"Of course it matters! I-" Lloyd was silenced by Hotaru's hand over his mouth.

"Quiet down. Let at least one of us get some sleep." She removed her hand and gestured at Genis.

"Um… right." Lloyd muttered, slightly embarrassed.

Hotaru sighed. "What I mean is, the past can't be changed. There's no point in letting it control you…. That's all." It seemed like her mind wandered for a bit. "I'm not sure if anyone would agree, but maybe…."

"Maybe you're right." Lloyd said, staring into the fire.

"That would be a nice change…" Hotaru muttered.

"What?"

"….Nothing. Get some sleep. I'll keep watch."


	3. Triet

Lloyd's Point of View -

It was hot in the desert, to say the least. It was hot and boring. Everything looked the same to Lloyd. "It's so hot here!" Mostly, he was just complaining. The snakes didn't help matters much, either.

"We know that already!" It was clear that Genis had enough of Lloyd's complaints.

Hotaru sighed. "We're almost there, Lloyd." She pointed in front of them, where Lloyd could begin to see a town. "You see? That's Triet."

"It's a mirage!" Lloyd yelled at the sky.

"You'll see." Was the only response he got from Hotaru.

Hotaru's Point of View -

When the group finally got to Triet, Hotaru silently thanked Martel. Too much of that and she might have just knocked him out and dragged him here. She looked around and noticed that Noishe was inching closer to Lloyd than usual. _That's strange… _Looking ahead, she saw why.

Desians were about. She quickly stepped in front of Lloyd, only to hear his questions. _"What _are you doing?"

Hotaru turned only to glare at Lloyd. "Shut it. Genis…"

He seemed to understand, as he took Lloyd's other side without a word.

Desians walked into the square. "Alright. We're looking for wanted criminal Lloyd Irving. Identification code unknown."

"What does he look like?" One of the desians asked.

"His likeness is on the wanted posters."

The Desians split up and went in different directions throughout Triet.

"That was kind of close." Hotaru said with a sigh. "Alright. Let's get some more supplies, then we can find the others."

Hotaru went to the bazaar, the only place in Triet to buy anything, and headed for one stall in particular. Genis and Lloyd were right behind her, but Noishe had already run off to somewhere. "Hello, Sig." She said to the one selling his wares.

The man smiled. "Hotaru! It's nice to see you again!" He looked around, almost nervously for a minute. "Where's your teacher?"

Hotaru shrugged. "Kratos isn't here right now. It's just us." She was sure that no one missed that the man became much more relaxed after she said so.

Lloyd's Point of View -

"Am I really this ugly?" Lloyd asked, feeling self-conscious as he looked at his wanted poster, then down at himself.

Lloyd noticed Hotaru smile just a little. "Nope, you look okay." She then walked off.

"I look okay?" Lloyd repeated, a bit confused by Hotaru's words.

"This is great." Genis said. "They won't find you with this… probably."

"Hurry up!" Hotaru called at them.

_And people say I'm impatient…._

The two quickly caught up with her by the town's exit. "Okay, they're most likely going to the Triet Ruins." Hotaru told them. "We should-"

"Stop right there!"

Hotaru's Point of View -

"Oh, what now?" Hotaru questioned before turning to see Desians running their way. _Fantastic._

Three desians ran up to them. "Lloyd Irving! We found you!"

"Damnit!" Lloyd intelligently said.

"Hard to hide with your wanted posters everywhere, isn't it?" The desians in the back, who happened to be wielding a crossbow, taunted.

Hotaru drew the sword at her hip. "Let's not waste our time with pointless talk. Shall we begin?"

"Yeah, let's go!" Lloyd yelled, charging at the desian with a sword.

Hotaru rolled her eyes and attacked the desian with a whip. He brought his arm down and across, making his whip slice the air. Hotaru held up her sword to block, but the whip wrapped around it.

"Ha! I got your weapon, little girl!" Hotaru saw the desian grin.

"Don't think that you've won yet." Hotaru warned, reaching back with her free hand to draw her other sword. "I have another." This sword was different, longer and thinner than the other one, obviously not created by a human. The metal shone in a silver color. "Now then, I need you out of the way!" She plunged her sword deep into her enemy's chest, killing him. Hotaru sighed as she pulled out her sword, looking at Lloyd's fight.

Lloyd's Point of View -

Lloyd wasn't having an easy time. Right at the beginning, he was forced to be defensive. The desian had swung his sword, which Lloyd blocked with both of his. He was struggling against the strength of the enemy half-elf.

Intense pain suddenly attacked his right shoulder, making him drop one of his swords. It turned out to be a crossbow bolt.

"Lloyd!" Genis yelled. **"Stone Edge!" **Lloyd knew that Genis just attacked the desian with the crossbow.

"**Demon Fang!" **Hotaru yelled, right before the attack hit the Desian. She came running over to Lloyd. "Are you alright?" She actually looked concerned.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Lloyd lied. It actually hurt like hell.

Hotaru rolled her eyes and gripped the bolt. "It's coming out." Then she pulled out the bolt, sending a wave of pain through Lloyd's arm. "Okay, now…. **First Aid." **A green light appeared and healed Lloyd's arm enough that he could fight again.

"You do spells, too?" Lloyd asked. Hotaru didn't use any spells in the Martel Temple, so it was a surprise.

Hotaru shrugged. "Now and then." She looked over at the two desians left, who seemed to be recovering. "Pick up your sword. We still need to finish them." With that, she ran after the one with the crossbow.

After that, it didn't take much for the two to go down. When they won, Lloyd heard Hotaru sigh. "That could have been bad…."

He looked over at her. Hotaru seemed to be thinking about something. "Nah, no way. They were weak. Piece of cake."

"Don't let down your guard, Lloyd." Genis warned. Hotaru didn't say anything. She only nodded.

"I'm not letting down my guard!" Lloyd yelled defensively. "I'm just saying-"

Lloyd was silenced by a bolt of electricity hitting his back.

Colette's Point of View -

_It's so hot here! _Colette wasn't sure if the Triet Desert was the right place for her. All heat, no relief. _Well, it could be worse…._

After all, she was with the ever calm and collected Professor and the super powerful Kratos. What could go wrong?

But she was just Colette, the Chosen. _A sacrifice..._

_No! No sad thoughts! _Colette scolded herself, shaking her head. She knew that she had to let herself have fun while she still could. And if she was stuck in the sad thoughts, there would be no happy thoughts. It was better to focus on the good things than the bad things, right?

"Colette? Are you alright?" Raine asked, looking concerned.

"No, no. I'm fine." Colette said, using the smile that she had been using for as long as she could remember.

"Colette!" A familiar voice called out. She turned to see a worried-looking Genis with Noishe. No Lloyd, or even Hotaru.

Worried, Colette ran over. "Genis! What are you doing here? What's wrong?"

Hotaru's Point of View -

Hotaru wasn't captured before, so she didn't know what to expect. Certainly not this. She sat on a chair, arms crossed, sitting across from a man with cyan hair, blue eyes, and pointed ears. She didn't want to talk. In fact, she probably would have attacked already if it wasn't for the fact that she didn't have her weapons. "What do you want?"

He didn't say anything for a while and just dug through the drawers of his desk for a few minutes. "It is late, but I wanted to give you my condolences about Atsuko's untimely death."

Hotaru barked a laugh. "That's good, coming from scum like you." She didn't bother hiding the fact that she wanted nothing to do with him.

He just smirked. "Scum, are we?" He slid something across the desk to her. It was an image of him, the man back from Iselia, and a woman. The woman had black hair and eyes, but everything about her seemed warm.

Hotaru frowned, then looked across at him. "Why do you have this? Why is my mother with you?" Because she knew that her mother, Atsuko, hated the desians as much as anyone else in Sylvarant. It was because of that her life was cut short.

"We're not who you think we are, Hotaru." Was all he said after a moment.

Hotaru glared at him. "Answer the damn question. I won't waste my time talking to you if you aren't going to make sense."

"Your mother was like us, a Renegade. It took us a while to find you, thanks to… ah… complications."

Lloyd's Point of View -

Groaning, Lloyd woke up and looked around. He was in some sort of prison cell. As he was thinking of a way out, a nearby door opened, accompanied by approaching footsteps. "...Well, if that's true, then I feel sorry for him. He can't escape execution."

_Execution? What the hell? _Lloyd didn't understand what they were talking about, and didn't want to. All he knew was that it was time to go. All he had left to work with was the Sorcerer's Ring. All of his weapons were apparently taken. _Then what do I do with it? _He saw that the guard went back to work and stopped talking. _I wonder… maybe I can hit him with it?_

Surprisingly, when he hit the guard, the guard just ran away.

_Okay…. That was a little lame._

Lloyd managed to pick the lock and get out of his cage. After a few minutes of looking, he found four swords behind a desk. Two were his, but the other two weren't. _They're Hotaru's swords… where is she, anyway?_

Lloyd didn't see her in any of the cells, so he could only guess that Hotaru was somewhere else. He would have to find her before he made his escape.

Hotaru's Point of View -

"Renegades? I don't know about them." Hotaru said, a little confused by this turnout.

He nodded. "Let's just say we secretly oppose the Desians."

Hotaru frowned. He wasn't exactly giving straight answers. "So, does the Chosen know about you? If anything opposes the desians, she should know."

He shrugged. "I couldn't tell you what the Chosen knows. I've never talked to her."

Hotaru crossed her arms again. "Get to the point. What do you want?"

"I want you to keep an eye on the Chosen's progress for me."

"A bold statement." Hotaru was irritated as she stood. "If you think I'd become a spy for you, you're dumber than anyone else I know. And I know some morons-"

"I lost him!" A breathless Lloyd charged into the room, then looked at the two. "Hotaru! There you are. I've been looking for you."

Hotaru blinked and walked over to him. "I was wondering when you were getting out, Lloyd." She turned to the man. "Like this one." She looked and noticed that Lloyd was holding two swords. "Are those mine?"

"Yeah, here." Lloyd handed Hotaru the weapons. As soon as they were in her hands, Hotaru felt a sense of relief.

"Thanks a lot." It was all Hotaru said, but she didn't think anything else needed saying.

Lloyd's Point of View -

"You're Lloyd?" The man got up and walked over to them, staring at Lloyd a bit.

"Well, who are _you _to ask for _my _name?" Lloyd asked, a bit defensively. He didn't like the way that he was staring.

"Insolent fool." He narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Lloyd. "But I see the resemblance."

Lloyd's eyes widened. _Does he know my parents?_

"You're the Desian that attacked Iselia!" Lloyd yelled. Hotaru sighed. _What did I do wrong this time? He wondered._

"So you're Lloyd! Now this _is _amusing!" The man smiled as if nothing could be more fun.

"Botta!" The blue-haired man said. "I'm leaving now. It'll be over if he sees me. Take care of the Chosen."

"Yes, my lord." He even bowed a little as the man left through the room's back door.

"Lloyd!" He turned to see Colette, Kratos, and of course, Genis. "Are you hurt?" Colette asked, concern written across her face.

"He seems fine." Kratos said. He didn't seem as concerned, if at all. Lloyd noticed his glance at Hotaru. _Maybe he's worried about other things._

The man called Botta laughed. "Perfect! Now I can destroy the Chosen and Lloyd at the same time!"

Lloyd drew his swords. "Yeah? Bring it."

Raine's Point of View -

Raine ran through the halls of the base, headed for the control room. _Got to hurry! I need to get there, now!_

When Raine arrived in the room, she was surprised to see no guards. It didn't make sense. She sighed and shook her head. It didn't matter at the moment. She just needed to open the escape route.

Hotaru's Point of View -

Hotaru took a half-step back. She knew that this wasn't one of her good moments. Her right shoulder was bleeding badly. She was holding it with her left hand, but that didn't stop her from glaring at the enemy named Botta.

"It ends here for you." He said, raising his weapon to attack her.

"No!" Hotaru heard Colette yell and saw her Chakram hit Botta. This seemed to only make him angry, as he turned to Colette instead.

"No way! **Sonic Thrust!" **Lloyd attacked before Botta had a chance.

Botta frowned. "This is no good. I'll retreat for now."

As soon as Botta left, Raine entered and went over to Hotaru to heal her arm. "Is that all that was injured?"

Hotaru nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." She didn't say that she could have healed herself.

"No time to linger! We should go." Kratos said, already turning to leave.

Hotaru took one last look at the room before following. _Yeah… I don't want to stay here…_

The next day, they set out from the inn in Triet. Hotaru sighed, feeling more relaxed with her mentor, a person that she's come to trust. The only one that she's come to trust in the past ten years.

Well, she was starting to trust Genis, too.

"Next stop: the seal of fire!" Lloyd yelled enthusiastically.

Genis and Hotaru rolled their eyes, then glanced at each other and smiled. "This is going to be interesting."

"Yeah, I know." Hotaru smiled again. At least things weren't boring anymore.


	4. Seal of Fire

**CorrineAri: I need to thank SheenaMalfoy for telling me about the line thing. I didn't know about it, so thank you so much for telling me! Also, I changed some of the past chapters, so please take a look. It should be easier to understand now.**

**Geinis: You take too long to update.**

**CorrineAri: I know. T.T**

Hotaru's Point of View -

The Triet Ruins weren't very impressive, especially with Raine on the ground rubbing it and yelling about Polycarbonate. Lloyd and Kratos both looked at Genis.

"Is she always like this?" Kratos asked first.

Genis didn't say anything, but looked at his distracted sister.

"Is she?" Lloyd pressed.

Genis sighed. "I was trying so hard to hide it, too…"

After calming down, Raine took a deep breath and instructed Colette to place her hand on the pedestal top. The trapdoor opened to reveal stairs leading down.

"Before we go inside…" Kratos started.

Hotaru knew where this was going. She had already learned it years ago.

"I'm going to teach you some techniques to raise your defenses."

_"Hotaru, I'm going to teach you how to use that magic shield that I used." Kratos said to a nine year old Hotaru._

_The girl nodded. "Okay. I'll try it."_

Hotaru shook her head to come back to the present. They went inside the ruins shortly after. Inside, they were confronted with a puzzle, but with their combined intelligence, it was simple enough. They went onto the teleporter pad, which led to the altar.

"There's the altar." Colette said excitedly as she walked up to it.

"Wait!" Hotaru pulled back Colette. "The manna..." It was practically choking her.

"She's right." Genis said, with Raine agreeing.

"Are you a..." Colette started, then stopped herself from asking Hotaru a question that she didn't think that she wanted to hear.

The Guardian of the Seal of Fire appeared, growling at them. Hotaru drew her swords.

"Prepare yourselves."

"DIE! YAH!" Lloyd screamed, charging at the monster.

Hotaru sighed. "Ever reckless, aren't you?" She muttered before she and Kratos charged after.

Colette threw her chakarams, one after another, the first hitting the monster's face and the second hitting it's neck before returning to her. The creature roared in anger and unleashed a volley of fire at Colette. She threw up her shield without a second to spare.

"Colette!" Lloyd called. Anyone could see that the shield was failing under the pressure of fire.

Hotaru didn't feel like taking chances. **"Punishment!" **Hotaru called as she swung with her swords in a complete circle, effectively cutting open it's side.

**"Icicle!" **Genis yelled, ice hitting the monster from underneath. It roared in pain.

Lloyd slashed at the enemy. "Come on! Just die!"

Hotaru rolled her eyes at Lloyd's idiocy.

The monster sent Lloyd flying with it's tail.

"Lloyd!" Raine called as he hit the ground. She ran over to him. **"First Aid!"**

**"Tempest!" **Lloyd yelled as soon has he could stand, slicing the monster.

"Hotaru! Now!" Kratos called to her.

Hotaru nodded. "Let's go now! **Lightning Punishment!"**

Hotaru spun around with her swords inflicting several wounds on the monster as lightning hit it. The monster roared, then collapsed, dead.

Colette's Point of View -

Nervously, Colette walked up to the altar. _I can do this… _

She put her hands together and prayed. "Oh goddess Martel, nurturer and protector of the earth, grant me thy strength."

Remiel appeared and gave Colette her wings, exactly as she was taught would happen.

For the slightest of seconds, she wished her fate on one of her cousins, then regretted it immediately.

"Colette... has wings!"

She turned to face Lloyd and put on her happiest smile. "Yep! And look, I can put them away, too!"

Later that night, the whole group was sitting around the fire. Lloyd looked around. "Hey, where did Hotaru go?"

Genis rolled his eyes. "She left a while ago. She said that she was going to look around."

"Oh."

Colette coughed.

"Colette, are you okay?" Lloyd asked immediately.

"I'm fine." She said with a smile before she stood up. "I'm going to go look around."

"Want me to come with you?" Lloyd asked.

"No, thank you." Colette said as she walked away.

Colette walked along the edge of the sand that merged with grass. _Is it going to be like this with every seal? _She touched her Cruxis Crystal. _That really was painful... And Lloyd could have gotten hurt..._

She thought about when Lloyd got thrown. It scared her to death.

"Colette?"

She turned to see a worried-looking Hotaru. "Yes?"

She said nothing, instead looking up at the sky. "You know, I've traveled almost everywhere in Sylvarant, but the stars are always the same, you know?"

Colette blinked, wondering where that came from.

Hotaru looked straight at Colette. "Listen. I think everyone in our group knows what it's like to be different, in one way or another. So, if you need to talk, even if you think it's not important, speak up. We can't help you if you don't."

Colette opened her mouth, thinking about saying something, when Hotaru put a hand on Colette's shoulder. "After all, it's my job to make sure that you're properly protected, and that doesn't always mean just physically."

Changing her mind, Colette just smiled. "Thanks, but I'm really fine. I'm just a little tired."

Hotaru shook her head. "Then get some sleep. Good night."


End file.
